Ablaze
by Amanda Hawthorn
Summary: The loft had always been their home, even before Michael had asked Fiona to move in with him. This had been the place they had reconnected…where they had fought, built bombs and made love…but now they had to leave it behind. One shot based on 6x11 and 6x12


**Disclaimer: Burn Notice still doesn't belong to me unfortunately**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has supported me and reviewed all of my past stories. I know I have a lot of reviewers who have followed me throughout all of the fandoms I've been involved in, and I just can't thank you enough for being with me now, reviewing even though I know some of you don't follow Burn Notice. It means a lot to me to have your continued support and yes I promise I will come back to CSI at some point and continue with some GSR!**

**Thank you so much to my dear friends Purdy's Pal, DaisyDay and JediSkysinger for reading through this and for being such wonderful friends. We've shared so much over the last year and I feel I've known all of you forever.**

**Huge thanks to the twitter girls for being so wonderful. You all brighten my day with you kindness and words of support. Special thanks and so much love to Noelle and LeeLee, my very special friends. I love you both more than you could know.**

**000**

**This story is based on episodes 6x11 and 6x12. Set during the scene in the loft but without the appearance of Ayn.**

_**The loft had always been their home, even before Michael had asked Fiona to move in with him. This had been the place they had reconnected…where they had fought, built bombs and made love…but now they had to leave it behind.**_

Ablaze

The loft had always been their home, even before Michael had asked Fiona to move in with him. This had been the place they had reconnected…where they had fought, built bombs and made love…but now they had to leave it behind.

Fiona's eyes fell onto her snow globe collection, memories of each one dancing around in her mind. Reaching out to one of the smallest she picked it up and shone her flashlight over it and sighed wistfully as she gave it a small shake. Her whole body was numb and her emotions were so muddled as she watched with a melancholy gaze when the tiny glittering snow inside glided to the bottom.

"How many of these do I get to take?" she asked, shifting her gaze to Michael who was reading through the files that he'd prepared for Grey to take back to Tom Card.

Lifting his eyes to hers he watched her for all of two seconds, knowing that after everything they'd been through he still couldn't fulfil the promise he'd made to her when they were back in Panama.

"Two or three," he told her apologetically, knowing that he would do everything he could to replace the ones she was leaving behind.

When her shoulder's slumped with annoyance he could already see the disappointment slipping into her eyes and he tried to justify it with a reason.

"It has to look like all our stuff was burned, so all of our stuff has to burn."

She knew he was right, of course she did, but it didn't make the situation any better. Taking her flashlight again she sighed huffily and held another one of the heavy globes in her hand, regarding it carefully.

Fiona could feel the anger welling inside her but she swallowed it down as she snatched up a snow globe and placed it into her bag. She knew why they had to do this but she couldn't hide the animosity towards the man who had not only destroyed their lives, but who had murdered Nate too.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped angrily, shooting Tyler Grey her angriest glare as she tossed another two globes into her bag. "You're supposed to be burning down my house!"

Michael exchanged looks with Grey knowing all too well how it felt to be on the other side of Fiona's anger, but he couldn't feel any sympathy for the man who had taken his brother's life. Instead he tried to focus on the task at hand as well as avoid Fiona's wrath.

For her part Fiona only became more furious with every passing second and moved forward to find some other things to put into her bag, all the while telling herself over and over that she shouldn't feel so sentimental.

Grey was smart enough to keep his head down and avoid eye contact with Fiona for the rest of the time he was there, instead he busied himself with making explosives, wondering how a couple like Michael and Fiona had stayed together for so long.

Michael tried to concentrate on placing the charges but he couldn't seem to focus. Once he'd placed the glass jar containing the charge onto the bed he couldn't help but feel a little sad.

This bed was theirs, his and Fiona's. This had been the first thing they'd brought together as a couple. They'd made love on this bed, fought and even laid talking for hours when Fiona had been released from prison. He didn't think any pain would ever compare to losing Fiona when she'd given herself up to protect him, but when he looked up and caught the look in his girlfriend's eyes, he knew he could never recover from that look of pure sorrow that was emanating from her right now.

Swallowing hard he tried to tell her that he was sorry but even he knew those words didn't mean anything anymore. He'd said them far too many times already.

Fiona dropped her gaze onto the photograph in her hand and felt her eyes glaze over as she focused on the black and white image. She wasn't going to leave this behind, not for anything and she didn't care how much Michael came out with his spiel about everything needing to burn.

"Fi—"

"I will _NOT_ leave this behind Michael," she growled dangerously. "You've taken my snow globes but you won't take my family."

Michael's mouth opened and closed when he saw the look of sheer determination in her eyes. He wasn't going to tell her she couldn't keep her photos, but when she looked at him, her eyes telling him more than her words, he felt something inside him break.

"Take all the photos you want," he told her softly, guilt of everything she had already lost eating away at his heart. "But you need to leave something behind, okay."

Opening her bag she placed the photograph inside and took one last look around the loft. She could already feel the swell of emotion rising up inside her but she swallowed it back before it could reach her eyes.

"Okay," she nodded. "I'm ready."

"What about the rest of your family pictures, don't you—"

"Michael," she sighed out his name, silencing his words. "I have all I need…just…"

When her voice trailed away he moved around the bed to take her in his arms but before he could reach her he remembered that they weren't alone in the room. Stopping in his tracks he thought of something to say that could ease some of the pain of what they were about to do, but he knew that no words would ever be enough.

Grey stood up uncomfortably and focused on the detonator in his hand. Everything he'd been led to believe about Michael Westen had been a lie, and despite carrying out his orders he felt the uncharacteristic swell of guilt creeping around him. He knew he was witnessing a very private moment between two people who were obviously bound together in more ways than just love. This couple were committed and here he was about to tear their house apart.

"Okay," he coughed, clearing his throat to gain their attention. "Time to light this place up."

Fiona to turn her eyes onto him, the fury in her glare causing Grey to look towards Michael for any kind of support. He'd read Fiona Glenanne's file and he wasn't sure how much of it was true, but seeing her now, a look of pure anger emanating from her, he realised that he really didn't want to stick around to find out.

Moving towards him, Fiona snatched the detonator out of his hands with barely held contempt.

"We can take it from here," she snapped, her whole body language telling him that this wasn't open for discussion. "Why don't you give us a minute?"

For a few seconds Grey considered arguing with her but when he glanced up to Michael and saw the devastated look in his eyes, he grabbed the file and moved out of the loft as fast as he could before Fiona lived up to her reputation and shot him.

When they were once again alone, Michael and Fiona stood side by side, both of them looking around their home with the same kind of numbing sadness.

"Are you—" Michael started to ask when Fiona spoke at the same time, her words merging with his.

"Okay?"

Their eyes met and held sadly before they broke their gaze and turned to look around the loft one last time before Fiona sighed miserably.

"This was the only home we shared…"

Her words caused Michael's eyes to fill with welling emotion. They had come so far and been through so much, and this felt a lot like the end to everything. Turning towards her he poured as much love into his gaze as he could before he moved a little closer towards her.

"It won't be the last," he promised as he placed his hand over hers on the detonator.

They huddled together, both of them taking one last longing look around their home before they simultaneously pressed the button and watched numbly as everything around them began to burn.

The first tear escaped from Fiona's eyes to carve a solitary track over her cheek, but she reached up to swipe it away before Michael realised just how upset she actually was. She felt his arm slip around her back, his reassuring touch urging her to move with him as he manoeuvred them towards the open door.

He knew they would never get over losing the loft…this was their first real home together, the one place that was theirs and he couldn't let her stay here to watch it burn.

They moved silently, both of them climbing into the car Sam's girlfriend had provided, ignoring Tyler Grey who was sitting in the back seat.

"I'm really sorry about—"

The glare Michael shot at him caused him to clamp his mouth shut as he slumped back into the seat and looked out of the window, anywhere but at the burning building.

000

Moonlight filtered in through the window, the illuminating rays covering the couple in the bed with a silvery glow. Michael laid on his back, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he followed the patterns that the moon created on the white surface.

Since they had returned to the hotel, both of them had showered in silence, too scared to speak the words that would make the other crumble. He knew Fiona was struggling to find the reasoning behind all of this madness, but to her credit she had just led him towards the bed and snuggled into his side.

Inclining his head he glanced at her face, content to watch her as she slept. He smiled down at the woman who was still asleep beside him, lying on her front with the sheet pooling just below her lower back and gloriously naked. Leaning over her, he ran a hand over her smooth skin before bending forward to place a soft kiss in between her shoulder blades.

She stirred slightly in her sleep and mumbled his name on a sigh before turning her head away from him. Michael watched her for a few more moments, still not quite believing that everything that had happened between them over the last few years was real. Moving closer, he lay down beside her again and draped an arm across his back and huddled into her body.

"Mmm…" she mumbled as she rolled onto her side and pushed herself back so that they were spooned together. "Michael…"

"Shhh," he whispered softly, placing soft kisses against her ear. "Go back to sleep."

She sighed contentedly and reached out to blindly grasp for his hand to pull his arm around her front so she could thread their fingers together.

"Sleep," she mumbled as she squeezed his fingers before she lifted their joined hands up to her lips to kiss his knuckles. "Love…you…"

The sound of those powerful words caused Michael to clamp his eyes closed and bury his face into her hair. He knew she was on the cusp, in between being awake and asleep but he couldn't stop those words from escaping, not anymore.

"I…_love_…you…" he whispered, her hair muffling his words but he knew by the way she clutched his hand tighter that she had heard him.

"Good…" she murmured softly, the elation in her voice unmistakable as she manoeuvred herself around so that they were face to face.

His eyes opened and drank in her features. Even in the darkness surrounded by the soft glow of moonlight, she was still so beautiful. She forgave him for everything he had ever done to hurt her and he knew he didn't deserve her.

Fiona shifted closer until she was level with his face. Leaning forward she urged him to close his eyes and planted a soft kiss onto each closed lid as a sort of reward.

"Sleep," she repeated her words of only moments ago, keeping her eyes fixed on him. "Just for tonight let everything go… let yourself rest…"

"Fi…"

"Please Michael," she whispered, her voice cracking under the strain of her heart. "For me…"

When he opened his eyes and gazed at her she lifted her hands to his face and stroked his cheek gently before she tugged his head down onto her chest. She heard his soft sigh when she ran her fingers through his hair and began to gently massage his scalp, hoping the soothing motions would lull him into slumber.

After half an hour she slowly eased her movements but kept her fingers in his hair, listening for any kind of sound that would indicate stopping her movements would wake him. His body had grown heavy over hers but she welcomed the cumbersome weight of him. His deep breathing became rhythmic, the sound pulling her down with him into a relaxing slumber, and as she tightened her hold on him she wouldn't allow those last images of their home burning barrage her, not now...

Tomorrow they could start again. Tomorrow they could plan their next move and try to figure out where they were going from here, but that was tomorrow. They could do all of it tomorrow. And as Fiona allowed herself to succumb to sleep she heard the words echoing inside her mind as she drifted off to sleep…_not _tonight…

End


End file.
